Ethan Czata scored a hat trick and finished with four points, and Riley Patterson had a five-point night as the Niagara IceDogs doubled up the Owen Sound Attack 6-3 in Ontario Hockey League action Thursday night at the Meridian Centre.
Hayden Reid and Ivan Galiyanov also scored for Niagara (26-21-4-1), which scored a pair of short-handed goals to earn the season series sweep over the Attack.
Julian Brown, Pierce Mbuyi and Jared Langdon had the goals for the Attack (20-27-2-3). Owen Sound came up empty on a five-game road swing, dropping its fifth in a row.
“It’s been a long trip, a lot of losses and we’re not happy about it. It’s not fun right now,” says Attack Head Coach Scott Wray. “We gotta reset and get ready for the Soo.”
Galiyanov scored a key insurance goal for the IceDogs near the midway mark of the third period. The Attack had a lengthy power play opportunity in a one-goal game after a high-sticking call to Noah Read at 5:41 of the third.
But it was the IceDogs who eventually scored during the 5-on-4. Near the end of the Attack power play, Reid ended up with the puck on the left board in the Owen Sound zone and Galiyanov was all alone in front. He got a pass, took his time, deked and scored to give the IceDogs a 5-3 lead. It was Niagara’s second short-handed goal of the game.
Owen Sound has now allowed a league-leading 14 short-handed goals against this season.
Czata would add an empty-netter in the final minute to make it 6-3.
The IceDogs jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period with an even-strength goal, a power play marker and one short-handed. Patterson, Czata and Reid scored. Trenten Bennett was pulled near the end of the first after allowing three goals on 12 shots.
But the Attack would push back in the second. Brown got a point shot by Charlie Robertson short-side just over four minutes in to cut Niagara’s lead to 3-1.
Czata found his second of the game just over four minutes later to restore Niagara’s three-goal lead.
Then Mbuyi blasted a one-time shot at 11:43 on the power play to bring the Attack within two. And then it was Langdon with just over five minutes to go in the second, taking a pass from Harry Nansi down low and quickly firing a shot out front past Robertson. 4-3 Niagara.
That’s how things stood heading into the third. Then the Galiyanov short-handed goal came and the IceDogs were back up by two.
A bench minor for too many men on the ice with 3:09 remaining put the Attack on the penalty-kill and unable to pull their goalie for the extra attacker until the final minute.
“They came out hard, but we found a way to crawl back in the second. But couldn’t get that extra one,” Wray says. “That’s what’s happening right now. We’re always crawling back.”
Robertson made 14 saves in the win, while Koprowski stopped 13 taking the loss. The IceDogs outshot the Attack 28-17 while going 1 for 4 on the power play; Owen Sound was 1 for 5, and allowed two short-handed goals against.
Next up for the Attack is a home date on Saturday with the Soo Greyhounds. Carter George will make his return to the Bayshore.
LINEUP NOTES
Attack forward Noah Nelson made his return to the lineup against Niagara Thursday night after missing the past 18 games with a lower-body injury.
The Attack made some other tweaks to their lineup Thursday. Braedyn Rogers, Caden Taylor and Easton Mikus were healthy scratches. Landon Jackman and Blake Munnings slotted into the lineup.
ROAD WOES
Thursday’s loss was Owen Sound’s seventh straight on the road. Their last road win came back on Jan. 2 over Sarnia Sting.